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who else runs stairs for cardio?

maxpro2

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I live in a city where it is not possible to go for a run; my building has an awesome weight room but horrible cardio equipment.

As a solution, I have been running stairs for cardio. I live in a 10 floor building. After lifting I climb the 10 floors as fast as possible, walk down while catching my breath, and then sprint up again.

On pure cardio days, I do this 5 times.

This destroys my legs.. after 5 times up and down my legs literally shake. I am wondering how I can balance this kind of cardio with leg days. Anyone in the same boat?
 
Stairs are amazing for cardio.

How many days a week do you lift, and what are your current goals?
 
I have done stairs in the past. They seem to work pretty well for me. I like them because it feels like you can get some serious work in but they don't take too long. Also, you seem to be doing as interval training which is the way I always did it and really like the work.

On a side note, when sprinting up to you hit every step or every other step? The only time I felt like I ran in to trouble with stairs was being told to hit every step but it felt as if i was not going full speed when I have to make sure I am hitting every single step
 
Yea, that is a great interval training, but trouble is when you sprint up stairs you will probably be close to your anaerobic limit most of the time. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to this. A key advantage is that you get use to running with a high HR and you will experience the after burn effect, where your body burns more fat during your rest phase.

The main disadvantage is that you won't have any base conditioning if you only run stairs. Ideally you should mix in at least one run a week where you run for 40 mins at a regular pace, HR in the fat burning zone (aerob).
 
Why would this matter, powerhouse?
 
I did that last summer.. plan on starting again in the spring.. I use an outdoor amphitheatre along our river.. walk down the steps and then run up the seats (they're twice as high)

Get a great burn from this.. good interval exercise
 
base conditioning is key for a great stamina, which can't be achieved through anaerobic training alone. Of course if you just want the after burn effect it doesn't matter, if however you are working on your stamina you will need to have at least one run per week at a lower heart rate.
 
base conditioning is key for a great stamina, which can't be achieved through anaerobic training alone. Of course if you just want the after burn effect it doesn't matter, if however you are working on your stamina you will need to have at least one run per week at a lower heart rate.

Yeah when I do them stairs aren't my only exercise.. and I do them for bursts of strength not stamina.. the steps aren't that long..

If you're doing a bunch of flights at once that'll work your stamina..
 
base conditioning is key for a great stamina, which can't be achieved through anaerobic training alone. Of course if you just want the after burn effect it doesn't matter, if however you are working on your stamina you will need to have at least one run per week at a lower heart rate.

But what will be the benefit of this. You say "stamina", but I don't see how running stairs WON'T build stamina.

I don't actually care about the afterburn, btw - just interested on why you think the once a week endurance work is important. I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you - I just want to understand your reasoning.
 
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Will doing short intervals @ high HR be the same for stamina as doing a steady slow paced run @ a lower HR? I will free up a day to workout soon and i wanted to do high speed interval training to build some stamina. (in between 2 lifting sessions.)
 
I love running stairs, but I have none to ascend. :(
 
well, yea, naturally running stairs will increase your stamina, but there will come a stage where you can't get ur HR much lower. Also because running stairs will often be at your anaerobic limit your muscles will experience a big increase in acid build up.

Put it this way, after a weight session running stairs is one of the worst things you can do, because it will prolong your recovery time. So for starters after a workout you should do cardio in an aerobic zone (you can run up the stairs at a slower pace, as long as you don't reach your anaerobic barrier). Running in an aerobic zone helps you muscles remove the acid build up, thus shortening your recovery period. It's what is known as an active recovery.

Doing a proper stair workout as you discussed on pure cardio days is great, and I actually think it is good. A lot of people, in fitness centres especially, tend to stick to the low aerobic zones, and I think if you are young enough you should push the envelope and train in a high zone a lot of the time.

But as mentioned, if you want to make proper progress you will also need at least one pro-longed run a week where you run at a lower HR, ideally for around 40 mins. This increases your individual muscle cell's mitrochondride numbers (sorry about the terms, I studied all this in German...), which in term enables your body to convert more glycogen into energy. This of course is also of huge benefit when you run at a higher HR, as you can stay in an aerobic zone for longer. As a result you can lower your HR a lot more than you could by just doing stair workouts (or any anaerobic workout for that matter). Most make the mistake thinking this kind of topic should only be of interst for marathon runners, but that's not the case. My running goal for instance is to break the 3 mile 18 min limit, but in order to do that I know that I also need to keep up my 40 min runs. Without them I'd still be trying to crack the 19 min barrier.

It is something you have to experience really to believe it, but combining both makes a huge difference while running. If you have ever gone from a sitting job to an active job (tending bar for example, in a smoke free environment) you will have experienced a similar effect on your runs.

As mentioned though, I guess most people here are interested in building muscles. So after weight sessions you should definitely not run at or above your anaerobic barrier. But doing any aerobic activity within your limits will be of great benefit and aid your recovery after workouts!
 
well, yea, naturally running stairs will increase your stamina, but there will come a stage where you can't get ur HR much lower. Also because running stairs will often be at your anaerobic limit your muscles will experience a big increase in acid build up.

Put it this way, after a weight session running stairs is one of the worst things you can do, because it will prolong your recovery time. So for starters after a workout you should do cardio in an aerobic zone (you can run up the stairs at a slower pace, as long as you don't reach your anaerobic barrier). Running in an aerobic zone helps you muscles remove the acid build up, thus shortening your recovery period. It's what is known as an active recovery.

Doing a proper stair workout as you discussed on pure cardio days is great, and I actually think it is good. A lot of people, in fitness centres especially, tend to stick to the low aerobic zones, and I think if you are young enough you should push the envelope and train in a high zone a lot of the time.

But as mentioned, if you want to make proper progress you will also need at least one pro-longed run a week where you run at a lower HR, ideally for around 40 mins. This increases your individual muscle cell's mitrochondride numbers (sorry about the terms, I studied all this in German...), which in term enables your body to convert more glycogen into energy. This of course is also of huge benefit when you run at a higher HR, as you can stay in an aerobic zone for longer. As a result you can lower your HR a lot more than you could by just doing stair workouts (or any anaerobic workout for that matter). Most make the mistake thinking this kind of topic should only be of interst for marathon runners, but that's not the case. My running goal for instance is to break the 3 mile 18 min limit, but in order to do that I know that I also need to keep up my 40 min runs. Without them I'd still be trying to crack the 19 min barrier.

It is something you have to experience really to believe it, but combining both makes a huge difference while running. If you have ever gone from a sitting job to an active job (tending bar for example, in a smoke free environment) you will have experienced a similar effect on your runs.

As mentioned though, I guess most people here are interested in building muscles. So after weight sessions you should definitely not run at or above your anaerobic barrier. But doing any aerobic activity within your limits will be of great benefit and aid your recovery after workouts!


Yeah when I run stairs I usually have that exercise set in it's own day.. I wouldn't run them after lifting or before.. But I also don't run stairs 3 or 4 times a week.
 
Yea, hill training is quite intense. It’s great for developing athleticism! Recommend hill repeats to basketball players especially. As you mentioned in the article the important thing is that not every run is approached at the same intensity level. Even with hill training there are different types for different purposes. I would suggest a steep hill and short burst for an anaerobic workout, and a longer running track with a few medium hills mixed in for an aerobic workout. Marathon and triathlon runners should choose tracks that have very slight inclines, but they should be present none the less.

Would also note that most of the downsides you’ve listed are only experienced by serious long distance runners. Unless you have trained your whole life to become a sprinter the chances of experiencing any serious FT to ST Fibre conversions are small, and also a reduction in testosterone is usually only experienced by marathon runners (or other serious endurance disciplines).
 
Sprinters aren't at risk of conversion!

Anyway, for me it's not about the risk as much as it is about the BOREDOM.

If I can build heart stroke and mitochondrial density with 20-40 minutes of hills once a week - rather than doing more regular long session, I'm going to.

I did this for the first time the year I wrote this article, and I couldn't believe how much stronger I was on hills when I got back to riding my bike in the spring!
 
Sprinters aren't at risk of conversion!

What I mean is unless you are a life long sprinter who all of a sudden makes the life changing decision of becoming a long distance runner, you are very unlikely to experience a noticeable conversion from FT to ST fibres.

If I can build heart stroke and mitochondrial density with 20-40 minutes of hills once a week - rather than doing more regular long session, I'm going to.

Always seems like fitness instructors and individuals who take part in sport leagues or teams such as football or basketball are the only ones who appreciate the benefits of training at different intensity levels for different lengths of time. Invest some money in a pulsar watch. Get one that is also capable of measuring your OwnIndex. Then you’ll be able to see the difference a proper combination of aerobic and anaerobic workouts make.

I did this for the first time the year I wrote this article, and I couldn't believe how much stronger I was on hills when I got back to riding my bike in the spring!

And yea, as I said before, 20-40 mins is better than nothing! But if you add in one session where you run at a lower level you would experience even a bigger improvement on your bike come spring time;-).

Anyway, for me it's not about the risk as much as it is about the BOREDOM.

How come you get bored? It's understandable if you are running on a treadmill, even I get bored on one of those after 20 mins, but running outside is quality!
 
I won't run. Ever. I sprint or I walk.
 
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